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Council leaves $30,000 contingency for study of potential Texas Instruments well impact on city water
Summary
Staff told the council it left $30,000 in the culinary-water budget to study the potential impact of a proposed Texas Instruments well on Highland’s aquifers and existing wells; staff said some work may be done in-house but an outside engineering review will likely be required.
City staff told the Highland City Council they included $30,000 in the culinary-water budget as a contingency to fund an initial study of how a new Texas Instruments (TI) well might affect the city’s existing wells and aquifers.
"I think what I was expecting to have the study come back and tell us is what kind of an impact is this TI well going to have on our existing wells and the existing aquifer," said Chris, a staff operations lead discussing study scope. Staff said the work would likely be in phases: define aquifer characteristics, estimate drawdown and recharge, and then provide remediation and cost estimates; TI will conduct its own studies and the city would likely hire or retain an outside engineering firm to review TI’s work and add missing analysis.
Why it matters: Council members warned that a deep, high-capacity well nearby could lower groundwater levels and increase the city’s future costs if the city must deepen or replace existing wells. A former mayor and other council members suggested that, if the city can quantify impacts, it may use those findings to press TI for mitigation or cost-sharing.
Staff said some of the technical work could be handled by in-house staff or existing consultants, but that unbiased review will likely necessitate an independent engineering firm. Bowen Collins was mentioned as a local engineering firm with the capacity to perform additional review if needed.
Next steps: staff plans to assemble a request for proposals with specific deliverables (impact on existing wells, projected drawdown, recharge expectations, and estimated remediation costs) and seek proposals from qualified engineers. The council asked that the study be scoped to produce actionable answers about potential impacts and likely costs so the city can pursue mitigation or negotiation if warranted.
